THE PRIMACY OF PETER JESUS

Texts: Genesis 17; Matthew 16:13-23

I. THE THOUSAND YEAR CONTROVERSY OVER PETER’S PRIMACY AND MATTHEW 16:13-20

A. Matthew 16:13-20 is the first passage the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther translated into German.

B. “Christ gave special powers in His Church to St. Peter by making him the head of the Apostles and the chief teacher and ruler of the entire Church. Christ did not intend that the special power of chief teacher and ruler of the entire Church should be exercised by St. Peter alone, but intended that this power should be passed down to his successor, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, who is the Vicar of Christ on earth and the visible head of the Church” (The Roman Catholic Baltimore Catechism)

C. St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, Italy was built on the alleged site where Peter was crucified.

St. Peter’s Cathedral

1. One of the architectural masterpieces of St. Peter’s is a dome started by Michelangelo. Around it in 6-foot high letters is written, TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM ET PORTAE INFERI NON PRAEVALEBUNT ADVERSUM EAM. (You are Peter and upon this rockmass I will build my congregation and the gates of (Hades) will not overpower it).

2. Below the dome is the Papal Altar and underneath the Altar is the alleged place of Peter’s burial!

3. As the Pope says mass he stands over the remains of the Apostle Peter, surrounded by the words Jesus spoke to Peter. According to the Catholic theology of the Mass, the Pope brings the body and blood of Jesus down from heaven. Very powerful imagery!

The Papal Altar

D. The money Catholics raised for St. Peter’s Cathedral came from the sale of indulgences, and it was the sale of indulgences that sparked the Protestant Reformation! One of the Pope's abuses of the keys of the kingdom was the selling indulgences to raise money for St. Peter’s Cathedral and the keys of the kingdom were taken from him.

At Vatican, Saint Peter Loses His Keys

Reuters
March 14, 2003

— VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Gospels say Jesus gave the apostle Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, thereby entrusting him with the spiritual guidance of the faithful.

Now the Vatican has lost them.

Vatican authorities were searching on Thursday for the left hand -- the one holding the keys -- of a 13th-century marble statue of the apostle in St. Peter's Basilica after the hand and keys mysteriously vanished.

Carved from a separate block of marble attached to the arm by a metal rod, the hand would have been relatively easy to remove. The Vatican was tight-lipped about what might have happened to it, saying only it was missing.

E. Our congregation’s name “Christ Church” comes from Peter’s profession in verse 16 “You are the Christ” and Jesus’ statement in verse 18 “upon this rock I will build My church.”

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” 8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. (1 Peter 2:4-8)

II. MATTHEW 16:13-20 IS NOT SO MUCH ABOUT PETER’S PRIMACY BUT CHRIST’S PREEMINENCE

A. The statement Jesus makes to Peter is ironic. “You are Peter/Rock and upon this rock, I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt.16:18).

1. Earlier in Matthew 14, Peter the rock sank like a rock because of his lack of faith (Matt.14:27-31).

2. The irony shouldn’t be missed that just after calling Peter the unmovable Rock, against which the Gates of Hades would not prevail, Jesus calls Peter, “Satan!” and “stumbling block” (Matt.16:23).

3. Later, Peter would try defending Jesus from arrest by cutting off the ear of the high priest’s slave (Matt.26:47-57; John 18:10-11).

4. Peter fails to confess Christ to servant girls (Matt.26:69-75).

5. Even after Pentecost, Peter fell into the damning error of the Judaizers and Paul rebuked him for it (Galatians 2).

If there is a single person within the pages of the Bible that we can consider to be a humorist, it is without doubt Jesus. There is a subtle, playful quality to his mind that is unmistakable and that emerges most clearly if we take time to distill his humorous sayings from the seriousness that also pervades his words. Jesus was a master of wordplay, irony and satire, often with an element of humor intermixed. (Ryken, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

B. The true wonder of this passage is not the “greatness” of Peter but that Jesus chooses to entrust the least likely man and men/Apostles with the most precious truths of heaven! (1 Corinthians 1:27-29; Matt.16:19 with 18:18-20; cf. John 20:23)

C. Peter is the “Rock” just as Abraham was the “rock” (Isaiah 51:1-2).

“We find particularly intriguing parallels between Genesis 17 and Matthew 16. In both cases we are witnessing the birth of the people of God (the Jews in the one case, the church in the other). In both that birth is associated with one particular individual (Abraham, then Peter), and in both that individual has a name which symbolized his crucial function (Abraham is taken to mean ‘father of a multitude’, Peter to mean ‘rock’ on which the church is founded). Are we to conclude that the Peter of Matthew 16 is the parallel to Abraham?” (Davies and Allison II:624).

1. In the OT, the household of God was built through faith. Abraham was the father of faith.

2. Likewise, the NT household of God is built by Jesus through faith.

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. 2 “Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.” (Isaiah 51:1-2)

III. WHAT MAKES PETER’S PROFESSION, “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD” DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER PROFESSIONS BEFORE IT IN MATTHEW?

A. Peter is not the first to call Jesus the Christ nor is he the first to call Jesus the Son of God.

1. The disciples confessed earlier, “You are certainly God’s Son!” (Matt.14:33; cf. Gen.22:2; 2 Sam.7:14; Psalm 2:7; 89:26-27).

2. The centurion in Matthew 8 called Jesus “Lord” (8:8; cf. 8:26).

3. The Gadarene demoniacs addressed Jesus as “Son of God” (8:29).

4. The two blind men in Matthew 9 called out “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (9:27,28; cf.12:23).

5. The Canaanite woman addressed Jesus as “Lord, Son of David” (15:22).

6. Nathanael said, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49; see also John 1:34,41,42).

B. Peter doesn’t really understand the implications of what he is saying, as evidenced by Jesus’ rebuke of him (Matt.16:21-23).

C. Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention Peter’s profession of faith, but only Matthew mentions what some have called “Peter’s Primacy” (i.e. the statement that Jesus would build His church upon the “rock” and Jesus’ giving Peter the keys of the Kingdom) (Matt.16:19).

D. Matthew 16 isn’t only important because of what Peter says, or what Jesus says about Peter, but this is the first time in Matthew that Jesus explicitly affirms that He is the Christ, the Son of God.

1. Up to this point in time, Jesus had never explicitly taught His disciples or the Jews that He was the Christ or the Son of God (note that Jesus tells the Samaritan woman [John 4:25-26!] and compare with John 10:24).

2. Up to this point in time, Jesus always referred to Himself as the “Son” or the “Son of Man.” In fact that’s how Jesus begins Matthew 16:13, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

3. Even when John the Baptist sent others to Jesus to ask if Jesus were the Expected One, Jesus didn’t say “Yes.” Instead, He pointed to His signs and to the Old Testament (Matt.11:3-5 with Isa.29:18-21; 35:5-6; 61:1; cf. John 10:24-25).

E. After Matthew 16, Jesus begins to explicitly disclose more and more of the truth about Himself to the disciples.

1. Matthew 16 – Jesus acknowledges that He is the Christ, the Son of God.

2. Matthew 17 – Jesus discloses His divine glory on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Do you know the second time Jesus publicly affirms that He is the Christ, the Son of God? It’s just as significant as Matthew 16:13-19! (see also John 11:27; 20:30-31; Acts 9:20-22)

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Take what you have learned this morning and make it into a prayer. Have you confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God?

What was the title of this morning’s sermon and why?

How important is Peter to Roman Catholicism? How is Peter’s importance highlighted in St. Peter’s Cathedral?

What was one of the main sparks that ignited the Reformation that had to do with St. Peter’s Cathedral?

Where from our passage did our congregation get its name?

What is the irony in Jesus calling Peter “Rock”?

What made Peter’s profession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” so special?

Do you know the second time Jesus publicly affirms that He is the Christ, the Son of God? It’s just as significant as Matthew 16:13-19!